|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERSApril 19, 2012Jo-Wilfried TsongaMONTE CARLO, MONACO J. TSONGA/F. Verdasco THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. Is this the 'Tsonga Year'? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You mean me winning the title? For the time being, I just won that match. Q. But are you hungry for this? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I'm always hungry for victories. I always go on the court wanting to win. Sometimes people are shocked when I say, If I come to this tournament, it's because I want to try to go to the end of the tournament. But I think it's important. Q. So the quarterfinal is within your reach, and this means you have a possible semifinal ahead. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It would be great for me because it would be my first time in a semifinal on clay. I hope I can make it. Q. Can you talk about your match against Gilles. Apparently he won last time you played him. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, it was in Rome in 2008. But it was four years ago. That's quite a while. Since then we both changed and improved. I hope this time will be different because during that match I had a match point and I had an overhead smash which went into the bottom of the net. I hope this time the same thing happens, and I'll make that overhead. Q. You two know each other very well. Is it going to be a very tight match? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, we do know each other, but it's going to be tight because both of us will want to win. I believe it's going to be an electrifying match. Q. You seemed focused during the whole match, whereas Verdasco wasn't. What do you think? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: In a tight match there's always one of the players who gives way, and today it was him. But several times in the past it was me against him and against other players. Today I played well so I was able to remain on top. Q. The conditions were tough. Was it difficult to stay calm and to manage the situation? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: The conditions themselves were not that bad. It was just we had to go in and out of the court several times. But I kept calm. I believe the conditions were correct. I was very focused each time I went out onto the court. Q. You saved breakpoints and set points. Do you believe that was the key? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes.  Today I was able to play those points very well. Against Isner, I lost those kind of points. This is why I wasn't able to turn it around then. But this week apparently I'm playing them well. Q. Is that a sign that you're confident? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Certainly. Q. Why do you say you're not a favorite in the match against Gilles? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Because last time we played on clay I lost. Q. But you had a match point, you just said. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, yes, but I didn't win. I'm not saying I'm not at his level. I'm just saying it's going to be interesting to see which one of us will be able to make it on clay. Q. During the rain delay in the locker rooms, what do you do? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, it's tough to know exactly when we will be able to go back on the court. Today, for example, I knew I was going to play around noon, so I didn't eat before the match. So when I was back in the locker room, I was starting to be hungry, wondering whether I should eat or not.  In the end I ate a little. Then we spend the time waiting, either sitting down, lying down, staying calm. We change to keep dry, and that's it. We eat and wait. Q. You have three different racquets on the bench. Are you still looking for the right one? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It has nothing to do with that. According to the conditions, I change racquets because of the tension. For example, on grass, when it's really dry, then I use a higher tension. But if it gets cold and humid, I want racquets with less tension. Q. So it depends on the atmosphere? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes. But it also depends on the game itself. If I have the idea that I'm not controlling enough, I would use a racquet with a higher tension. Q. Did you hear about Julien's injury? Do you know how serious it is? Apparently he's in hospital. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, this kind of thing makes you scared. It could happen to any one of us. We'll see what they say at the hospital. But I hope it's not too serious. Q. Do you believe the courts are dangerous? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Maybe. But this is because of the rain. When it rains, the clay gets soft, and when you slide you might dig a hole. Q. Did you hear about the conditions under which Djokovic has to play today? Has that ever happened to you? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to Djokovic. Could you tell me? Q. Well, he lost his grandfather this morning. Now he apparently has a lot of trouble focusing because he lost the first set. Has that happened to you? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, it did. It's tough. What is strange with me is when this happens, I usually play very well because in those cases nothing seems important. So if you lose a breakpoint or you miss a point, it doesn't count. Since my game is to go forward and be aggressive, it helps me being relaxed when I play, but it's tough. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|